


This Christmas We’re Breaking All of the Rules

by feminabeata



Category: INFINITE (Band)
Genre: Christmas Challenge, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve 2020, Everything is a mess, Illegal activity, M/M, car incidents, mistletoe is forbidden, pandemic fluff?, sexy grinches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28295787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminabeata/pseuds/feminabeata
Summary: 2020 is a mess and so is this story.Four Authors, One Prompt: The Christmas Edition!
Relationships: Kim Sunggyu/Nam Woohyun
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	This Christmas We’re Breaking All of the Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is a Christmas fic set during the pandemic because 2020 shouldn't be just a year of suffering and struggle. We can still have good times too. We can still LOVE! But keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and that we're all abiding by different rules and regulations. I tried to stick with some of the more basic rules. Also remember that none of us are perfect during this time either. Yes! Even you aren't perfectly abiding by some of the advice. Sometimes, things gotta give.
> 
> Also need to state that this is a Christmas Challenge with my author friends (Negiramen, Fleurdesaison, and Shuensha). We all gave a parameter for the challenge. Our stories must have a car incident, illegal activity, a sexy grinch, and NO MISTLETOE! And this was the only thing that my brain came up with given those parameters. I'm sorry.
> 
> If you feel uncomfortable with this topic or if you're tired of this whole thing, feel free to skip the fic. I won't be offended. Do what's best for you!
> 
> But I wish all of you guys a safe and happy holidays! I hope that your 2021 is healthy and happy. And as Kim Sunggyu always says, "Get rich!"

Just like everything else that happened in 2020, the Christmas holiday was going to be disappointing. However, rarely the optimist, Kim Sunggyu had been trying his best to capture some of Christmas Magic in a bottle and share it with his family, wanting to end the shitty year on a positive note. It took careful planning and time, months spent shopping for presents online and (what felt like) eons spent waiting in isolation so that his risk of contaminating his aging parents and young nephew and niece, which was difficult for him to do. Sunggyu was on the board for a small music company that managed a handful of acts. And the entertainment industry shuttered a bit at the start of the year, but it soon picked up again and sped up. Entertainment was in high demand during these “trying and uncertain times.” And so Sunggyu had a lot of affairs to carefully organize before his trip down to Jeonju.

Part of his plans was to travel in the very early morning hours of December 24th. So early, that it might as well still be December 23rd. But such late/early hours would mean a few people on the road, even fewer at rest areas (if he had to stop for whatever reason, most likely from the liters of coffee that he was drinking). And indeed there were a few cars on the road, but his carefully made plans ended there.

Half an hour out of the city, Sunggyu realized that he’d left his suitcase back in the apartment. He’d been too concerned with packing up all of the presents into the car, that his own clothes had slipped his mind. No matter, Sunggyu had old clothes at his parents’ home. So he supposed there were worse things.

Like black ice. Sunggyu had forgotten to account that cold nights meant icy roads. And those few cars on the road got into a multi-car accident on the highway because of the ice, forcing Sunggyu to take the country roads, adding an hour to his trip. No, over an hour, because he had skidded a bit once on the black ice, when he first set out. It nearly gave him a heart attack, which had already been beating fast from the caffeine. And the second time spun his car around and landed it into a ditch on the side of the road.

After minutes of his car’s wheels skidding in the mud, trying to drive out of the ditch, Sunggyu wagered stupidly that he could push the car out all by himself. He couldn’t, of course. But he could get himself covered from head to toe in mud while trying and hurt his ankle, which he did. Limping back into the car, he finally admitted to himself that he needed to call for help and a tow.

It was when a machine picked up the call instead of a human when Sunggyu realized (for the millionth time since January) how difficult it was to go through 2020 as a single man, living hours away from family. Of course, these were difficult time for everyone, but surely these regulations weren’t made with people like Sunggyu in mind. He lived alone. He nearly worked alone too now, operating more from home than at the company. Friends with family in town were hesitant to meet with him, which plagued him with guilt whenever he asked them out for a simple dinner date. Then there was the “cool down” period between any in-person meetings, which always made Sunggyu contemplate if it was worth it, if any of this was truly worth it, if this was really a life worth living. These thoughts weren’t good for his health, but neither was spending so much time utterly alone.

But if there was one perk to being so alone, it was that Sunggyu became more self-reliant. He cooked for himself now and even fixed minor issues around his apartment. Now dealing with shit himself was his first instinct, which is why he had tried to push the car out himself rather than to call for help.

But when Kim Sunggyu fails himself, who could help him now?

Sunggyu stepped out once again from the car in order to cool his hot head. A part of him wanted to chuck his phone out of frustration, another wanted to throw himself down on the mud and wallow in his misery. Before he decided which part to give into, headlights appeared in his sights. A car! There was someone else on this blasted road! There could be help!

Sunggyu stepped out a bit and waved his arms. “Hey! Please! Hel…”

The car passed by, and Sunggyu arms fell down. Once again, desolation was chipping away at his heart, on the verge of breaking. His throat tightened until it shut. Tears filled his eyes. What was he going to do now?

But then he heard a door shut behind him. Sunggyu spun around and saw that the car had not passed him by, ignoring his desperate pleas, but pulled over up the road. Two (what he assumed to be) men stepped out of the car and were approaching him. Never before had Sunggyu been so pleased to see masked people in his whole life. He scrambled to put his own on and met them in the middle.

“Are you stuck, ahjussi?” the smaller of the two asked. Based on his height and the sound of his voice, he was probably a high school student.

“Ah, yes,” Sunggyu answered. “I tried to get it out myself, and…”

“That didn’t work out so well,” the older of the two men interrupted Sunggyu. And he laughed while looking over the mud-covered man.

Sunggyu tried not to take offense and continued, “No, it didn’t. Neither was calling for a tow. I can’t get one until tomorrow morning. Because of the state of things, their hours changed.”

The older stranger glanced down at Sunggyu’s car and then back at him. “I don’t think we can get it out without a tow. It’s good and stuck,” with that said, the desolation crept back in. Sunggyu was still helpless, still alone.

“Where are you headed?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu lifted up his head.

“If it’s anywhere near Jeonju, we could give you a ride,” the masked man offered. “Me and my cousin need to be there Christmas Eve. For an event. For an outdoor event. Nice and socially distanced. So how about it? Need a ride?” the man continued on anxiously the longer Sunggyu kept silent. But he was silent out of shock. What sort of luck was this? Good or bad?

It was good in the respect that Sunggyu would be rescued from the cold and would be home by Christmas Eve as he had planned. But to be in a car with two strangers during these times? His efforts to be as “clean” as possible would all be for naught.

“Ahjussi? Are you not going near Jeonju?” the younger asked.

“Uh, I am, but…” Sunggyu began. However, he didn’t know how to finish. He really wasn’t in any position to decline help.

“I promise you. We’re clean,” the older one said with his hands in the air. “This is the first time I’ve left my apartment in weeks, and this kid…” he looked over at his cousin. “Well, I’m sure he’s fine.”

That wasn’t very reassuring, especially after the younger cousin sneezed. And Sunggyu must’ve looked as unconvinced as he felt, because the older cousin let go a heavy sigh and asked, “What other choice do you have right now?”

“None.”

So Sunggyu took up the offer and got into the stranger’s car. Well, they weren’t entirely strangers anymore. They knew each others’ names now. The younger cousin was called Sungjong, and the older Woohyun. Other than that, Sunggyu knew nothing about them. So he still wasn’t going to let go of any caution. After carefully putting his presents into the trunk, Sunggyu took out several cleaning wipes and disinfected the entire passenger seat area before sitting down. And when seated, he had his arms crossed over his chest, careful not to touch anything and his scarf tied tightly over his mask. Could he breathe well? No. He was nearly suffocating. But he assumed that was a good thing because it meant nothing, no virus, no germ, was getting through.

Although he was doing a decent job of avoiding the virus as much as possible, he couldn’t avoid the judging stares from the cousins. “Are you done?” Woohyun asked once Sunggyu was settled in. Sunggyu responded with only a nod. “Okay, but I hate to tell you that you’ll probably have to do that whole routine again.”

“Why?” Sunggyu gasped.

“Because we have hours to go, and with another person in the car, I need some coffee to keep awake and alert. So I’ll stop to pick some up. Don’t wanna slip on black ice, unlike somebody,” it was supposed to be a joke but it stung.

“Oh good idea!” the Sungjong chirped from the backseat. “We could get snacks too! I’m hungry.”

“Then it’s settled!” Woohyun declared. “We’ll make a stop at the next convenience store!”

Sunggyu sighed. His arms tightened across his chest. Just like with the black ice, the situation had slipped dangerously out of his control. He wanted to do all that he could to straighten it out. “I’ll just stay in the car when we stop.”

Woohyun sighed and turned on his car, muttering “Do as you please.”

However, once they stopped at the store, Sunggyu did not do as he pleased. While making the short drive to the store, the cousins had somehow convinced him to change out of his muddy clothes and into an outfit in the back seat. And so Sunggyu found himself in the bathroom of the store, holding a garment bag in his hands. “What am I doing?” he asked himself. He thought for a second about just walking right back out of the bathroom, but then he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

He was surprised that he was let into the store in this state. He was literally covered from head to toe in mud, still wet mud. His hair was caked in it; his left side looked as if it’d been intentionally dyed that color. And the smell was so strong.

No wonder why the cousins were so insistent on him changing clothes. Sunggyu was an absolute mess.

So he quickly tried to make himself clean again. He’d done a decent job of it. And when it came time to change into new clothes, Sunggyu unzipped the garment bag and quickly zipped it back up after catching sight of the lime green, silk fabric. And Sunggyu had foolishly thought there could be nothing worse than being covered in mud.

There was a knock at the door.

“How are you doing in there?” Woohyun asked from the other side of the door.

“Fine!” Sunggyu shouted back, caught off guard. “Uh, but Woohyun-ssi?”

“Yes?” the other replied, just as cautious.

“These clothes that you gave me,” Sunggyu started.

“Do they not fit?”

“I’m sure they will, but…what is it?” Sunggyu finally came out with it, hoping that he wouldn’t offend the only help he had.

He didn’t. Woohyun was chuckling as he answered, “They’re my stage clothes for the event. It’s like the Grinch, but, you know, a bit sexy.”

“Sexy?” Sunggyu repeated as he carefully pulled down the zipper again. He winced, now noticing the neon fur attached to the shirt. “What kind of event is this?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Woohyun promised. “Get changed so that we can get back on the road.” That was followed by a loud yawn.

Right. Sunggyu was holding them all up, and time was still ticking by. He hurried up and got changed into Woohyun’s “sexy” stage outfit. And it was all as horrible as Sunggyu thought it would be. No, worse, because it didn’t quite fit him, especially in the chest, and so it probably was “sexier” than it should’ve been.

And his fears were confirmed when Sungjong laughed at the sight of him. “Ahjussi, you look good!” the high schooler insisted through his giggles. And that bruised Sunggyu’s already tattered ego even more. Before he left the store he bought several boxes of soju. If Woohyun was in charge of the driving now, and everything from his car to his clothes were out of Sunggyu’s control, he was going to let go of it all and get drunk.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with such thoughts.

“Ahjussi,” Sungjong said as he popped his head between the two front seats. “You have so many of these things. Can I have one? Just one, please?”

“Eh?” the two men in the front sputtered. And Sunggyu literally sputtered. He’d been drinking soju through a straw under his mask and scarf and soaked them both when he spat the alcohol out. Great, now he reeked of mud and soju.

“Sungjong,” Woohyun spoke to his cousin in a terse tone. “You can’t.”

“Why not?” Sungjong argued. “I’ll be legal next month!”

“Because we’re already going to be in enough trouble as it is! I can’t have you drinking on top of that. What would people think? About me?” Woohyun raised his voice, and the tension in the car along with it.

Sunggyu stiffened as he gaze slowly drifted towards the driver. There was something “off” about him, about the two of them. Sunggyu should’ve suspected something from the very beginning. Why were these two on the road so late/early? What sort of weird event were they going to? Why would one need to dress up in this ridiculous outfit? Was there even an event at all? Was it all made up to lure a helpless stranger into the car?

Were they even cousins? Or was this all an elaborate scheme?

“Hyung, chill,” Sungjong’s words did little to improve the situation. Woohyun appeared even more heated and he exploded at what his cousin said next: “It’s not like you kidnapped me. Well…not really.”

“WHAT?!”

* * *

It really wasn’t a true kidnapping, but it was sort of one. Woohyun was part of an acapella group, which occasionally Sungjong would participate in whenever they needed a more youthful voice. This event in Jeonju was the group’s only performance, during what would normally be a busy season for them. Woohyun kept repeating it over and over again: “It’s our only gig.” Sunggyu, also being in the music industry, understood why the other was so fixated on that. There weren’t many opportunities for live performances these days. Most of the acts at Sunggyu’s company had online concerts instead. But could Woohyun’s group do that? Probably not. Acapella groups weren’t exactly in high demand. This one gig meant a whole lot.

And it meant a whole lot more to Woohyun than anyone else. He, like Sunggyu, lived alone. All Woohyun had said was, “I just needed to get out of the house.” And Sunggyu knew exactly how the other had felt, the thoughts he might’ve had during those long, dark winter nights secluded in his apartment, shut in like a willing prisoner. Desolation, desperation, those things led the both of them down this icy road in nearly complete darkness.

It also led Woohyun to basically abduct his cousin, who had been grounded and forbidden from participating in acapella performance. After his college entrance exams, Sungjong went to celebrate by getting his ears pierced without his parents’ permission. His parents were not fond of their son’s hole-y rebellion and punished him. Woohyun had tried to get their permission to bring Sungjong to Jeonju, but they wouldn’t budge. Well, Woohyun could be just as stubborn too. A few hours ago, he snuck into Sungjong’s house, woke the kid from his sleep, and promised him an adventure. Just another small rebellion before his graduation.

But apparently Sungjong had a little bit more of a rebellious side than Woohyun had anticipated. However, he drew the line at underage drinking.

“Ah, so you did kidnap your cousin,” Sunggyu teased. Although it couldn’t be seen, he was beaming under the mask. But the red, warm glow from the soju was visible. And his drunken giggle was definitely audible. Perhaps he’d drunken too much too quickly, but Sunggyu was in a far better mood than he was earlier, especially when he could laugh at someone else’s misery.

“I did not,” Woohyun groaned. “You came with me willingly. Isn’t that right, Sungjongie?”

Not even a peep came from the backseat.

“Sungjongie?” Woohyun repeated glancing up at his rearview mirror. “Hm? He’s being awfully quiet.”

“Maybe he’s asleep,” Sunggyu guessed and turned around to check on the high school in the back seat.

Indeed Sungjong was laying down, but he wasn’t sleeping. He was hiding. The high schooler had stolen some soju from Sunggyu’s bag and was currently sucking fervently on the straw. And after Sunggyu caught him in the act, Sungjong’s eyes widened, and he crushed the box, chugging down the rest of the alcohol.

“Shit!”

“What?” Woohyun asked, glancing over at Sunggyu, who was quickly unbuckling his seat before he clambered over the front into the back of the car.

“Give that to me!” Sunggyu shouted as he tried to pry the box from Sungjong’s surprisingly tight grip.

“No! It’s mine!” Sungjong exclaimed, kicking the other away from him. His kicks weren’t as strong as his grip, and he wasn’t able to fend Sunggyu off with his legs. But he could with his tongue. Sungjong almost licked him when the box was in the elder’s hands, and Sunggyu retreated back to the front of the car, terrified.

“What’s going on?!” Woohyun demanded.

Sunggyu pointed to the delinquent in the backseat. “Sungjong’s drinking!”

“WHAT?!” Woohyun yelped. “Yah! Lee Sungjong!”

Once more, Sunggyu tried to take away the soju from the minor, but Sungjong still had his special weapon and kept the elder at bay with his tongue. “Don’t lick me!” Sunggyu yelled after taking off his own scarf and stuffing it into the younger’s open mouth.

“Ung,” Sungjong’s scream was muffled through the scarf. With a great struggle, he managed it pull it off. “Hyung! Ahjussi is trying to kill me!”

“WHAT?!” Woohyun growled.

Sunggyu spun around towards the seething driver. “I did not! He…” he tried to defend himself, but at the same time, he had left himself defenseless. Sungjong struck. “OW! He bit me!”

“THAT’S IT!” Woohyun yelled and the car screeched to a halt.

“Got it!” Sunggyu cheered. He managed to pry the crumpled box away from Sungjong when the car suddenly broke. But his victory was short lived. There wasn’t just one crumpled box. There were more on the floor. “Wait a second. One, two…”

Woohyun finally could turn around and see his cousin’s destruction for himself. And he was livid. “Yah Lee Sungjong, how many have you had?” The high schooler sheepishly flashed up a ‘3’ with his fingers. “HEY!” Woohyun yelled as he lunged at the other, who escaped by jumping out of the car and running off into darkness.

Woohyun sighed and sat back in his seat, hitting his head against the steering wheel until his horn beeped.

“Uh, should we go after him?” Sunggyu hesitantly suggested.

“Nah,” Woohyun muttered as he laid his cheek against the wheel and looked outside. “It’s snowing pretty hard now. He’ll come back.” And indeed, Sungjong wasn’t too far up the road. Sunggyu could make out the kid’s bright yellow coat as he darted back and forth. Sunggyu wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but a sad sigh stopped him from doing so. He looked over next to him, at Woohyun who was rubbing his tired eyes. “He must’ve shotgunned them. He’s pissed.”

“Sorry,” Sunggyu mumbled. After all, if he’d not bought the alcohol, Sungjong would’ve never done this and would still be in the car. What was he thinking anyway? Getting drunk in a strangers’ car? Sunggyu must’ve left his sense back in Seoul with his luggage.

“This car reeks of alcohol,” Woohyun grumbled. His sharp eyes darted over towards Sunggyu. “Both you and him.”

“Sorry,” the other repeated, hanging his head even lower.

“I’m calling it quits.”

Sunggyu perked up. “Huh?”

“There’s probably a motel up the way. We’ll stop there and wait things out,” Woohyun ended with a loud yawn, which nearly moved the mask from his face. The man was exhausted, clearly.

But Sunggyu wasn’t so sure about this. “Do we have to?”

“Look, Sunggyu-ssi,” Woohyun began to explain. “There’s ice, the snow’s coming down heavier, the two of you are drunk…”

“I’m not,” Sunggyu interjected. He was still with it. He wasn’t three sheets to the wind like Sungjong was! (And speaking of Sungjong, the high schooler was trying to sneak his way back to the car. But as soon as one of the men made eye contact with him, the kid darted away again in a yellow flash)

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “But if we get into an accident, what is a cop going to think?” he had a point. The roads were worsening, and if they got into an accident, Woohyun would’ve been suspected of drunk driving. “We’ll only stay a few hours, until morning comes. You could stay in the car if you’d like.”

‘Why don’t we just wait here?’ Sunggyu swallowed that question down when Woohyun yawned again. The bags under his eyes grew. The truth was, none of them were in the condition to drive. They all needed time to recover. “Okay,” Sunggyu gave in. He then unbuckled himself. “I’ll go get Sungjong.”

“Please.”

Wrestling Sungjong back into the car was an easier task than expected. Once Sunggyu got a hold of the high schooler, Sungjong went limp like a rag doll and allowed himself to be dragged into the car. It was really fortunate that no one else was on the road or else they would’ve really been suspected of abducting the young boy.

They also found a motel easily. It looked like a decent establishment, but Sunggyu was still wary. He didn’t want to risk it for a few hours of shut eye. So he declared that he’d stay in the car when the other two hopped out. Neither of them tried to talk him out of it. They were too exhausted and let the stranger do as he pleased.

Nearly half an hour later, Sunggyu regretted his decision. It was freezing cold in the car. The seats, even when reclined, were uncomfortable. Then there were the noises outside, echoing in the darkness, loud enough to feed into Sunggyu’s growing paranoia. And worst of all, Sungjong drank most of his soju, so Sunggyu couldn’t even enjoy a nice, drunken slumber.

But this was the decision that he had made, the metaphorical bed that he made, and now he had to sleep in it.

Snow crunched under foot. Someone was coming closer to the car. Sunggyu’s heart raced as he glanced out the window. A shadowy figure slowly became clearer as it approached the car. It was Woohyun without his mask on. Sunggyu’s heart stopped.

Shit. It couldn’t be, could it? Was Woohyun really ‘that’ Woohyun? Or was that face as common as his name?

Sunggyu quickly pulled up his scarf, covering his own face lest Woohyun recognize him too.

The man knocked on the window. Sunggyu jumped but kept his hand clamped over his face. “Hey. I talked to the owner, and they gave us a room that no one has been in for a week. And it was thoroughly cleaned before then. So…are you gonna come inside or freeze out here in the car?” Woohyun asked while shaking the snow from his hair. He then must’ve noticed Sunggyu’s tight grip on his scarf and pulled away from the car. “Ah, I forgot to put this on,” he muttered and then put on his own mask again. Afterwards, he looked at the other through the glass and pleaded, “Just come inside, please? It’s making me anxious to think about you out here in the cold.”

“Why? You…” Sunggyu blurted out but then changed his words, “We don’t really know each other.”

“True,” Woohyun spoke with a slight chuckle. “I must have a big heart then.”

Sunggyu narrowed his eyes on the other. Was this really the person from that time? He wasn’t so big hearted then. No, back then his heart was as small as the Grinch’s. Sunggyu scoffed at the buried memory, at the Woohyun that he tried hard to forget.

But the Woohyun in front of him wouldn’t allow it. “Are you coming or not? I’m freezing,” he asked again through chattering teeth. He shook his head again, ridding himself of fresh snowflakes. But the snow was coming down in heaps and clumps. And it was fucking freezing.

“I’m coming,” Sunggyu changed his mind. There were surely worse things out there than becoming a human icicle, and Sunggyu hoped that spending a night with this man (if he really was who he thought he was) wasn’t one of them.

* * *

“I’m gonna take off my mask.”

“What? Why?” Sunggyu blubbered. He was still holding onto his scarf even inside of the motel room.

“Because…” Woohyun chuckled as he pulled the mask off from his ears. “We’re about to share a bed. Whatever germs you got, I’m about to get or already have.”

Well, Sunggyu didn’t like the sound of any of that, not the bed-sharing or the insinuation that he was germy. “B-but…what about Sungjong?” he scrambled for an excuse.

“See for yourself,” the other stated as he pointed across the room, where Sungjong was passed out in a chair with a blanket tucked around him. “You can keep yours on if you want and sleep on the floor,” Woohyun continued. His voice sounded as tired as his face looked. “I don’t care anymore.”

Sunggyu groaned. Honestly, he wanted to hide his face now not from germs but from recognition. He wasn’t the only one with bad memories of the other. But he still must’ve been clinging on to a small hope that this Woohyun wasn’t that Woohyun. That tiny light of hope was smothered when Sunggyu finally took off his scarf and revealed his face for the first time. It took a moment or two for Woohyun to find Sunggyu’s face in his memories, but once he had, the man stiffened and his visage darkened.

Ah, so Woohyun was really ‘that’ Woohyun. And for him, Sunggyu was ‘that’ Sunggyu.

“I’m going to wash up,” Sunggyu announced as he fled into the bathroom. He slammed the door behind himself and looked up at his reflection in the mirror. There was still mud in his hair, and he was still dressed in that ridiculous and ill-fitting outfit. He was a mess, but the bigger mess laid right outside the bathroom door.

* * *

Apparently gay mixers in Itaewon were a thing, and Sunggyu was just as surprised as anyone to find out that they existed. Last December, before this madness started, he attended one, out of curiosity, and it was going to be his last, not because of the pandemic but because he had a horrible time. Honestly, Sunggyu would’ve been more successful at a bar, any bar, than he was at the mixer. And it was all because of Nam Woohyun.

At heterosexual mixers, there was typically competition: all of the girls vying to be chosen by the one man with outstanding specs and visuals or all of the guys wanting to make the prettiest girl theirs. Or so, that’s what happened in dramas. Sunggyu had never been to one himself. But he suspected that the competition was worse at a gay mixer because, well, men were more competitive by nature and, of course, they were all gay. And that’s what happened at his. Sunggyu got caught up in the competition, fighting tooth and nail, for the affection of one man: Jang Dongwoo.

Truthfully, Dongwoo wasn’t Sunggyu’s usual type. He was fierce looking and difficult to communicate with at times. But there was just something about Dongwoo that drew Sunggyu in. That cheerful smile and contagious laugh, the wise words hidden among his ramblings, and his great desire to please others, all of those things led Sunggyu to believe that dating Dongwoo would be good and easy. Dongwoo had already been following his suggestions and calling him ‘hyung.’ Well, that was until Nam Woohyun intervened.

That man also had his sights on Dongwoo. Woohyun was continuously blocking Sunggyu’s every advance and was making his own. If Sunggyu said something flirty, Woohyun would up the ante and call Dongwoo ‘darling.’ When Sunggyu left for the bathroom, Woohyun took the opportunity and sat himself right next to the prize. And when Woohyun left the table, Sunggyu did the same. The both of them kept handing food and drinks to Dongwoo to the point that he had to excuse himself to throw it all up. And when Dongwoo had his head in the toilet, coughing, Sunggyu and Woohyun fought each other to ‘soothe’ the vomiting man and blamed each other for the situation.

And worst of all, Woohyun was a musical actor. Sunggyu had hoped that he’d be the “musical one” of the group and stand out that way, but Woohyun dashed all of those. However, there was only one spot at the table for a “brooding artist” and the both of them competed for that title, even nearly breaking out into a vocal competition until another person from the mixer stood up and declared the whole event over.

Neither of them won Dongwoo over. He was put in a taxi and sent home. No one trusted him with either Sunggyu or Woohyun, who were fighting like predators over mutual prey. And Dongwoo didn’t ask for either of their numbers. He just slurred as he fumbled into the taxi, “If my heart isn’t leaning towards either one of you, then none of you can have it.”

Later, after the lockdowns started and Sunggyu had too much time to brood over the past, he wondered if his own heart was in it, or was it just his ego? Did he really want Dongwoo or did he just want to win?

In any case, Sunggyu had held onto the hope of meeting with Dongwoo again and prove to him that he wasn’t always such a shitty person. He was a nice guy, a cool guy! But never would he have guessed would he meet with Woohyun instead and be standing in a motel bathroom with nothing but a bathrobe on, about to share a bed with…

“Hey, are you done?” Woohyun asked while knocking on the door.

“Oh yea,” Sunggyu mumbled as he opened up the door and stepped out. “Sorry, I…”

“I have to pee.” Woohyun brushed past him, went into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Sunggyu scoffed. “Punk.” Certainly, Nam Woohyun was Nam Woohyun. Even though…no, Sunggyu shook those thoughts out of his head. Those thoughts could keep him up all night, but he at least wanted to put some worries to rest before putting himself to bed. He checked on Sungjong. He woke him up enough to have the boy drink some water and then tuck him back into his makeshift bed.

While he was doing that, he hadn’t notice that Woohyun was done with his shower and was out of the bathroom with the other bathrobe on, watching the not-so stranger wish his cousin good night. He was silently observing them and it somewhat creeped Sunggyu out when he realized it. Sunggyu responded with a glare at the other and crawled into the bed, staying as close to the edge as possible.

Woohyun did the same, but he wasn’t quiet anymore. “I’m all nice and soaped up!” He also sounded a lot happier than he did before the shower. Sunggyu rolled over towards him. Woohyun even looked happier as he was crawling into the bed. Why?

“Good,” Sunggyu grumbled and rolled back around. He felt Woohyun get settled in next to him. The bed was smaller than he’d anticipated. Woohyun’s back was slightly touching his. Sunggyu shut his eyes tightly and let out a deep breath, trying not to think how pleasant it was to have a warm body in his bed after so long.

Then the warm body spoke, “So, are we ever going to talk about how we’ve met before?”

Sunggyu groaned and rolled onto his back, throwing his arm over his eyes. “I guess we should now,” he gave in. It didn’t seem like Woohyun was the type to ignore such a thing. “I was hoping that you weren’t you, honestly.”

“Same,” Woohyun admitted. He then propped himself onto his side and gazed down at the other. Under the dim light, Sunggyu could see his excited smile. It was the scariest thing that he’d seen all night. “What are the chances that we’d meet again? I mean, in Itaewon, in our circle, sure, we could run into each other. But out here? In the middle of nowhere?”

Sunggyu scoffed, “Ah right, Mr. Destiny.” The memories from the mixer flooded through his head in full force, including the several puns Woohyun made with his own name and ‘destiny’ (wooyeon). The old antagonistic feeling returned too. “You were prattling on about fate that night too.”

Woohyun popped up from the bed and his smile popped off. “Oh, so me believing in fate is silly, but you can ask everyone for their zodiac sign and MBTI personality type as if those things hold water,” he hissed back.

Sunggyu had sat up along with him and raised his voice, “Those things are based in science and not some blind belief!”

“Pseudo-science!”

Sunggyu frowned and glared at the other out of the corner of his eye. “If you don’t believe in those things, then why did you know both your sign and personality type?” At that, Woohyun clamped his mouth shut. “Aha! Got ya!” Sunggyu jeered and laid back down. He pulled most of the blankets over himself as he settled in (and into his win). “No wonder why we can’t get along. We’re complete opposites in every respect. Air and earth. We can’t mix.”

“We’re opposites?” Woohyun repeated with a snort. “Funny, you don’t seem to remember that you and Dongwoo were opposites too. Me and him are both ENFP.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu bolted back up. “No, no he wasn’t…was he?” he ended with a question as Woohyun was nodding. “He wasn’t…ENTP? ENFJ?” Sunggyu really couldn’t believe that two people with the same personality could wear it so differently, and that he recalled so little about Dongwoo…or maybe Woohyun was still making shit up to get a rise out of Sunggyu?

“Nope, ENFP,” Woohyun said proudly. He then leaned back against the headrest, with his arms tucked behind his head. “That’s why we understand each other so well.”

“Are…are you dating Dongwoo?” Sunggyu hesitantly asked. Was his memory of that night so bad that he couldn’t remember Dongwoo rejecting him for his one-night-rival?

“No,” Woohyun admitted sheepishly and then sighed. “But, you know, I could have, if it weren’t for this whole…pandemic situation.”

It was weird hearing Sunggyu’s own thoughts and excuses coming out of someone else’s mouth. Now, they sounded like bullshit.

“Well, in any case,” Sunggyu started as he laid down once again and tried to lay this conversation to rest too. “It seems like you believe in this pseudo-science stuff as much as I do.”

“Maybe,” Woohyun admitted, but he wasn’t about to admit to a complete defeat. “But what about you? I remember you saying that you were a Christian. Doesn’t that mean you believe in fate too? You know, everything is according to His plan? All of that…stuff?”

Throughout this entire conversation, they had been needling each other and waiting to see who would bleed first, and now Woohyun had just done it. Sunggyu grew hot and flustered. He wasn’t about to defend himself and his faith to someone who brought it up just to hurt him. “I believe in free will,” Sunggyu grumbled out a reply as he tugged all of the sheets onto his side. “I’m not going to be with someone if I don’t choose to! I can be with whoever I want!”

Sunggyu then felt the bed violently move underneath him. The sheets were also tugged out of his grip. “I hear you. I hear you loud and clear,” Woohyun grumbled and continued to until his voice drifted off. “I wasn’t saying that we should…if you don’t…rude jerk…I don’t want it either…”

Sunggyu won the argument, but he feared that he lost something that he shouldn’t have.

* * *

And maybe that thing was sleep because Sunggyu barely shut his eyes before the alarm went off. It was Woohyun’s phone. Sunggyu groggily rolled over and tapped the other on the back. “Woohyun…ssi…The alarm is going off.”

The other responded by curling up into a ball, hiding his grumbles and his face.

Sunggyu sputtered into a slight laugh. What a child. “We need to hit the road, remember?” he reminded him.

“Five more minutes.” Well, Woohyun made that audible at least.

“How about you get out of bed now and I’ll drive the rest of the way?”

That worked. Woohyun rolled right out of the bed and onto the floor. “Keys are in my coat pocket,” he mumbled as he slunk off into the bathroom, peeling of his bathrobe as he did so.

Sunggyu shut his eyes tight and rolled over. That was…something, something else he needed to forget.

But what he did forget about was the high schooler in the chair who was now stirring awake. “What is that?” Sungjong asked.

And it didn’t occur to Sunggyu until now that the alarm was still going off. “Ah, it’s the alarm,” he blubbering as he went to turn it off. Woohyun’s phone was on the floor, like Sunggyu was now. “Got it!”

“Wh-where am I?” Sungjong then smacked his lips. Sunggyu popped up to answer, but when he did, Sungjong’s bleary eyes went wide. “Who are…oh, that ahjussi.” Things were slowly coming back to his tired head, which apparently hurt based on how hard he was rubbing it.

“Eung, that’s right. I’m that ahjussi,” Sunggyu replied and made his way over to the younger. “How’s the hangover?”

Sungjong whined. “My head hurts and my mouth…” he smacked his lips again, frowning at the odd feeling.

Sunggyu laughed and patted Sungjong on the head. Now this was really a child. And so he bargained with him like he did with the other: “If you ready quickly, I’ll buy you hangover soup and some coffee.”

“Call.”

Woohyun appeared too surprised when Sunggyu announced that he was going to be buying them breakfast. Maybe Dongwoo wasn’t the only one that Sunggyu had to prove that he wasn’t a shitty person to…or it could also be because Sunggyu didn’t like stopping at strange places and delaying the trip even more. However, Sunggyu felt more comfortable at strange places when he doused everyone’s hands in sanitizer and cleaned everything within reach.

Besides, they all need some warm soup after the night they just had. It did just the trick to lift their spirits, or so Sunggyu had thought.

Woohyun had been quiet the whole time, and Sunggyu assumed that the other was just tired (he looked it). But when Sungjong left for the restroom before the trio hit the road again, Woohyun finally spoke his mind, “Look, I wasn’t trying to come onto you last night.” His eyes were downcast as they trudged over to the car. “I just wanted to acknowledge that we knew each other. That was it.” He then looked up at the other. “Just because we’re two gay men who shared a bed and a ride doesn’t mean that anything more needs to come of it.”

“Oh,” was all Sunggyu could say for a good moment or two. But then something came to him “I…”

But right as that came, Woohyun left. “I’ll go check on Sungjong. He’s taking too long. I think he fell in,” he stated and ran back to the shop.

Sunggyu let out a heavy sigh as he watched the man flee away from him, from a shitty man. “I know. I know!” Sunggyu spat out. He then groaned and dragged a hand down his face. “Just one more hour.”

One more hour and they’d go their separate ways.

* * *

That hour had passed more pleasantly than Sunggyu thought it could. Sungjong had much to do with it. Apparently, he decided to act as cute as possible today so that they’d forget what a horrible, rebellious monster he’d been the night before. It didn’t quite work the way that the high schooler had planned because the two men had too much fun teasing him for it. And now they were singing Christmas carols in order to practice for the event later that night. Well, Sunggyu and Sungjong were singing. Woohyun was being oddly quiet and eyeing the driver carefully.

“What?” Sunggyu asked when he couldn’t handle the heat of Woohyun’s gaze any longer.

“Did three ghosts visit you in your sleep or something?” Sunggyu couldn’t tell if it was a serious question or not. Woohyun certainly sounded serious. “Yesterday you were Scrooge, and today you’re Papa Noel,” okay, there was a slight smile now. He was teasing.

Sunggyu went along with it, “What? I don’t know what you mean. I’m a pleasant fellow. A cool guy.”

“Do cool guys say that they’re cool guys?” Sungjong piped up from the back seat and quickly added, “Theoretically speaking.”

“Good point,” Woohyun said with a nod.

“Cool guys just admit it,” Sunggyu argued. “They don’t put on a fake act of modesty. They’re honest. That’s what makes them cool, right?” he asked the youngest.

“If you say so,” Sungjong let the old man have the win. But it wasn’t quite what Sunggyu was looking for. He wanted to hear it from someone else.

“I’m right, right?” Sunggyu asked Woohyun now.

“Sure,” the other answered slowly. It seemed like he was still trying to make his mind up about Sunggyu. And Sunggyu couldn’t blame him because he was doing the same.

They were different people now than they were that night last year. Was this how Woohyun really was?

Sunggyu hoped that he showed how he really was and that the other was looking.

* * *

Sunggyu wasn’t able to figure it out before they reached his house. After pulling out his belongings from the car, Sunggyu handed back the keys and said his goodbyes, “Thanks for the ride.”

“Thank you for driving,” Woohyun replied as he took the keys, but he didn’t move back to the car, nor did Sunggyu move towards his home. The both of them were standing still, awkward smiles threatening to falter. The both of them anxiously waiting for the other to do something. Neither of them did.

But Sungjong did. He poked his head out of the car window. “Ahjussi! We’re performing at 8 tonight, at the outdoor stage downtown!” he shouted loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. “Come!”

“Sungjong-ah,” Woohyun finally moved to talk to his cousin. “Ahjussi’s here to spend time with his family. We already took up too much.”

“Hey,” Sunggyu’s curt voice made the other immediately spin back around. “Who are you calling ‘ahjussi’?”

There was the smug grin again (this time it didn’t inspire the resentment it used to in Sunggyu, but instead…) Woohyun pointed to his cousin. “He said it.” He then began walking backwards to his car, waving at Sunggyu as he did. “Have a good holiday.”

“You too,” Sunggyu waved back and stayed outside, waving until the car pulled away. When it was out of his sights, Sunggyu risked it and looked at the time. “Shit.”

A simple 3 hour trip took him nearly 10 hours to complete. Was it worth it?

Yes, yes it was. To be at home, wrapped up in the (spoiling) love of his family was worth it. Although he had been hesitant to come inside his parents’ home, reflecting on where the last 10 hours took him and what/who he had contact with. His mother made the decision for him and pulled her dirty child inside. She immediately washed his mud-covered clothes and sat Sunggyu on the couch with his father, with a warm cup of hot chocolate in his hands.

And for the first time all season, it felt like Christmas. For the first time in 2020, Sunggyu was at peace.

* * *

It was 7:30pm on Christmas Eve, and Sunggyu had been checking the time ever since night had fallen. It wasn’t like he wasn’t enjoying time with his family. He was enjoying it immensely. But he was distracted. The memory of one small man had been pricking at the back of his mind ever since the mixer last December.

That small man wasn’t Dongwoo. It had never been Dongwoo.

The thing was, Sunggyu couldn’t remember Dongwoo very much, the man that he fought so hard for. The features of Dongwoo’s face were hazy in his memories, all that was clear was a toothy smile. And Sunggyu could remember that Dongwoo’s laugh was unique and contagious, but he couldn’t remember the sound of it. And yet, Sunggyu could still recall the exact timbre of Woohyun’s “Darling!” and the smug grin on his face. Resentment had etched Nam Woohyun into Sunggyu’s heart.

Why was that? Why had Woohyun gotten under his skin unlike anyone else had? Because they were opposites? Maybe…because of fate?

What if the mixer had lasted another round? What if they spent more time with each other? Was the competitive nature of the mixer getting in the way of them getting along? Because now without the competition, they could hold a civil conversation. They could also fight, but they could make amends more quickly than Sunggyu would’ve ever guessed. They could possibly enjoy each other’s company. And Sunggyu could (beyond all predictions) want to be liked by Woohyun because he could just so ever possibly be starting to like Woohyun.

That was a lot of ‘coulds’ that Sunggyu thought could never happen.

But if 2020 was a year of anything, it was a year when ‘coulds’ became reality.

And in reality, Sunggyu was sneaking out of his house, like a rebellious teen, to catch the acapella performance in the city’s square.

* * *

When Sunggyu arrived at the square, he realized why Woohyun kept calling it an ‘event’ rather than a concert. It had been years since Sunggyu spent a Christmas Eve in his hometown, and he’d forgotten about the collection of performances it would stage every year in the square, from dances to magic to, of course, singing. And like Sunggyu, Jeonju also wanted to hold onto some of that Christmas Magic and spread, in a safe way. Sunggyu barely managed to get a spot in the audience before the show started.

The acapella group was the final act of the show, and Sunggyu nearly fell asleep and missed it (not because the prior acts were boring but due to lack of sleep). But the roar from the crowd slapped him awake.

“Ah, he’s really a musical actor, isn’t he?” Sunggyu muttered to himself and snorted.

Only a musical actor could pull off such tacky stage outfit. Well, it helped that the ‘sexy Grinch’ costume (as he called it) actually fit him and that he was accompanied by several other people dressed just as tacky. There was even a (supposedly) sexy Rudolph and a lady who took the reindeer Vixen quite seriously. But they all pulled off the stage costumes flawlessly because they were all musical actors. Woohyun had really sold this event short to Sunggyu. There were some famous faces in that group.

And even though this was a small event, hours away from Seoul, every member of the group looked excited to be there, to the only place that would have them and let them perform.

Now Sunggyu knew why he barely managed to get in. This was definitely worth sneaking out of home for, just to see some celebrities. It was more than worth it when Woohyun sang his [solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXreNYWtjPQ).

“Shit,” Sunggyu muttered under his breath.

You don’t get to know someone in a single night or even in two, but when you meet with someone for a third time, you can grasp the whole person better. This was Nam Woohyun, a person who gets caught up in a silly competition, who was willing to help a stranger stuck in a ditch, who had a deep passion for music (and a nice voice too).

This Woohyun, he could definitely get along with.

* * *

“Ahjussi!” Sungjong shouted, waving his arms wildly. “You came!”

Not only did he come, but this old ahjussi stayed to meet with these two afterwards. Sunggyu nodded and made his way towards them. “I snuck out to come see it,” he admitted. “You guys did very well. I’m impressed.” Sungjong too sang well, even though he was touted out only for a few lines in one song. It was a ‘killing part.’

“We impressed the music exec, eh? Want to sign us?” With his mask on, Sunggyu couldn’t tell if Woohyun had his usual joking smile on. So he didn’t quite know how to respond.

Luckily Sungjong piped up, “Music exec, who? Ahjussi? Really?”

“What do you mean ‘Really?’” Sunggyu mimicked the teenager’s tone. He frowned deeply. “Sungjong, I’m getting anxious about how you see me?”

“I just never met a person in the music industry before,” Sungjong replied, waving his hand in the air as if to dismiss Sunggyu’s hurt.

“Eh hey.” Woohyun nudged his cousin. “What about your hyung?” he pointed at himself.

“You don’t count,” Sungjong answered nonchalantly. Right then, Woohyun raised his hand to lightly hit his cousin, but the younger slipped away and down the street. “Oh! Hold on. I want to look at that store before we go!” he exclaimed while jogging backwards and then turned around, going to the store.

“Little punk, insulting me and then running away,” Woohyun grumbled. His eyes were locked on his cousin, watching his every move. And Sunggyu couldn’t blame him after what happened last night. But he could blame Woohyun for ignoring the man who’d snuck out purely to see his performance.

“So,” Sunggyu started. Woohyun’s gaze immediately fell on him. It made Sunggyu nervous, “Were you serious about wanting my company to sign you? You’re good. You’re all really good, but we don’t invest in…”

Woohyun’s laughter broke up his rambling. “I was joking,” Woohyun confessed. “We’re all set on that front.”

“How so?”

Woohyun eyed the other curiously. “You really want to know?”

“Of course! I want to know more about you,” the truth slipped out of his tired mouth. And the both of them had to process for a bit what he’d just said and what Sunggyu meant by it.

Woohyun was just about to say something, but one of his groupmates called for him. He winced in irritation. Woohyun turned around to see the person wildly gesture for him to come over and help them out. He sighed and turned towards Sunggyu again. “I have to go help with…whatever mess that is,” he muttered. “But will you wait for me? There’s something I want to ask you, but…” The person shouted his name again, with even more desperation. Woohyun snapped, “Coming!”

“Oh, sure, go,” Sunggyu replied as the man was already back peddling away from him. He tried to keep the smile on his face and the atmosphere light. “I’ll just freeze my ass off here.”

Woohyun grinned. “As long as you stay put.”

* * *

While he was waiting, Sunggyu walked around the square in order to keep warm. Memories of coming here with his family throughout the years filled his heart. The decorations barely changed. The songs playing on the speakers in the shops were nearly the same as were their window displays. But that was Christmas. Christmas was all about doing the same thing, year after year. It was all about tradition.

However, it was also 2020. Not every tradition could be done this year. And Sunggyu noticed a significant piece of Christmas Magic missing from the square this year. Instead it was replaced with a sign: **Due to COVID-19, we’re not hanging the mistletoe this year. Instead, show your love with kind words.**

“I guess pandemics and mistletoe don’t mix, huh?”

It was Woohyun, finally finished with whatever he’d been doing and still dressed in his ridiculous stage outfit. And Sunggyu was glad to see it. He smirked and replied, “You were looking for some too? Were you going to drag me under it?”

Woohyun snorted. “Wasn’t that what you were trying to do?”

“There’s other people here. It could be any one of them,” Sunggyu kept his tone and stride cool as he walked away from the Christmas display.

Woohyun followed quickly on his heels. “But who else would it be besides me?” he called the other out.

“I thought you said you weren’t trying to come onto me,” Sunggyu did the same.

Woohyun slowly looked the other up and down. Sunggyu could see blush creeping up from under his mask. “That was last night. Right now, it’s different,” he spoke lowly.

“I guess it is,” Sunggyu replied in kind. He laughed. “I even snuck out to see you perform, like I’m Sungjong’s age.”

“You snuck out. I abducted by cousin. And now we’re two strangers looking to kiss each other in the middle of a pandemic, and two men at that,” Woohyun listed. The both of them stopped and faced each other. Woohyun bounced around nervously with his hands in his pocket, but Sunggyu had a feeling that he was smiling underneath his mask. “We’re breaking all of the rules.”

“We shared meals and a bed together. I’d hardly call us strangers anymore,” Sunggyu argued, watching the other closely. Never had such an atrocious outfit look so appealing.

“I wouldn’t either,” Woohyun muttered lowly as he stepped closer to the other, closer than the suggested distance. But it was fitting for two rule breakers. “So?”

“The car,” was all Sunggyu said.

Woohyun got it. “Follow me.”

* * *

The pandemic ruined a lot of things, this moment being one of them. After Sunggyu opened up the door to the back seat and got inside, panic and doubt set in. Did he really want this? Did he really want to do this? The longer the moment was drawn out, the more effort he put into making this happen, the more of a hassle it was, the more and more it meant that Sunggyu actually wanted to kiss Woohyun rather than doing it just for the Hell of it, because he was drunk on the Christmas spirit, because of the mistletoe.

In the movies, people kiss underneath the mistletoe out of curiosity, like it was a silly game. And Sunggyu really wondered what it would be like to kiss the musical actor. But away from the crowds, secluded in the car with Woohyun, without the excuse of ‘it must’ve been the mistletoe,’ Sunggyu was now forced to admit that there were feelings bubbling up inside of him. What these feelings were, how strong were they, he didn’t know. He also didn’t know if he should give into them.

At times like this, it was good that they were opposites. It was good that Woohyun acted more with feeling.

After Woohyun followed Sunggyu into the backseat, he pulled down the mask below his chin and then did the same with Sunggyu’s, who finally gave in and leaned forward.

This kiss wasn’t some silly Christmas game, not when it lasted this long and not when they gradually moved closer to each other until one of them was nearly in the other’s lap. No, this was something else.

“Wow,” Woohyun muttered when they finally pulled away. His lips glancing off the other’s as he spoke. “I haven’t kissed anyone in months.”

“Same,” Sunggyu whispered. His finger traced the other’s jawline. “I haven’t even been this close.”

“Then come closer.” Woohyun pulled Sunggyu back to him.

But before anything happened, there was a knock at the window. It was Sungjong, and he looked terrified. It wasn’t because he found his cousin in the backseat making out with another man, but Sunggyu could hear a woman on Sungjong’s phone yelling at the top of her lungs. “She wants to talk to you,” Sungjong mouthed from the other side of the window.

Woohyun groaned loudly before facing Sunggyu again. “Wait for me?”

“Sure,” Sunggyu answered, already reaching for the door handle. But Woohyun wouldn’t let him leave without one last peck, leaving Sunggyu feeling all too warm in the cold, winter air.

This really wasn’t a silly game anymore.

* * *

“I have to take him home, immediately.”

Sunggyu had guessed that much before Woohyun even told him. “Okay,” Sunggyu replied with a nod. “I should be going back to my parents’ place anyways. I’ll be spending the New Year with them.”

“Ah, yes,” Woohyun obviously tried not to sound disappointed, but his sad eyes gave him away. “That’s why you came down in the first place, to be with them.”

Sunggyu chuckled. “Woohyun, I’m coming back to Seoul in January.”

“True, but…” Woohyun began, but he was interrupted by Sungjong who was honking the car horn incessantly, nearly banging his head against the wheel as he did it, and when he finally did, the honking finally stopped. Neither Woohyun nor Sunggyu had the heart to laugh at it.

“Is he still drunk?” Sunggyu tried to joke

It fell flat. Woohyun shook his head. “No, that’s how he usually is.” Just like Sunggyu had been earlier that night, Woohyun decided just to be honest, “Look, I don’t want this to be just a weird…two days and one-night stand. I like you, or I think I could like you. That might be a better way to say it.”

“Then let’s find out in 2021,” Sunggyu promised and handed over his phone. “Here. Give me your number.”

“Message me when you get back into town,” Woohyun mumbled, distracted as he carefully entered his contact info into the phone.

“Well, when I get back, I should probably isolate myself for a bit, and…” Sunggyu began, and he noticed that, as he spoke, Woohyun nods were getting smaller and smaller. It made him laugh. Why had he not noticed how cute this man was before? “Then we can go on a date.”

Woohyun perked up. “Why should we wait that long?” he suggested. Sunggyu cocked his head in confusion. At that, Woohyun lifted his phone. “We can meet up in other ways, virtually.”

“True.” Sunggyu told him, “Call me when you get back home.”

“Will do,” Woohyun promised and leaned forward once again pressing his mask-covered lips against Sunggyu’s. Both of them immediately retracted and winced.

“That was weird.” Sunggyu awkwardly chuckled.

“Yeah, let’s not do that again.” Woohyun was walking backwards towards the car, waving. “Bye!”

“Bye, bye!”

* * *

It was 2 am Christmas Eve 2021, and Kim Sunggyu was alone, asleep on the couch with the television still on. He didn’t go home to Jeonju this year. He couldn’t. There were things keeping him in Seoul.

But maybe being alone and passed out on the couch was a better position than he was in last year, when he was stuck in a ditch and covered in mud. At least he was covered in blankets instead and peacefully sleeping.

His sleep was interrupted by beeping at his door. Someone was coming inside and Sunggyu stirred awake, rubbing his tired eyes. Once he fully opened his eyes, he saw that Woohyun was in front of him.

“Did you fall asleep waiting for me?” Woohyun asked as he sat on the couch next to the other.

“You said you’d come home sooner,” Sunggyu grumbled and leaned into Woohyun’s one-armed hug.

“Trust me, I came as soon as I could, but I got held up,” he sounded as frustrated with the situation as Sunggyu felt. The after party for the musical wasn’t supposed to go on for this long, but it probably did because they weren’t able to celebrate normally the year before. And one of Woohyun’s fellow actors kept suggesting that they go for another round. Woohyun complained a lot about that co-actor as the two got ready for bed.

It was when Sunggyu was watching Woohyun get into their bed and under the covers, when he was tells him overwhelmed with the huge difference between this year and the last, but they both ended up with him in bed with Woohyun on Christmas Eve. Yet the feeling now was worlds away from what it was last year. Sunggyu actually wanted Woohyun in his bed now, for starters. Also they were no longer rivals in love but partners.

“What are you thinking about?” Woohyun asked.

“Last year,” the other replied. “In Jeonju.”

“Ah that,” Woohyun muttered as he snuggled up closer to Sunggyu. “Is it a good or bad memory?”

“Good. Very good, in retrospect,” he replied with a light chuckle. He then kissed his boyfriend on the head. kiss “Merry Christmas, Woohyun.”

“Merry Christmas, darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the rushed ending. I wanted to get this done on Christmas Eve.
> 
> For the acapella group, I had Voctave in mind. I already linked a song by them in the fic, but I want to provide my favorite. Please enjoy!!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYtlzWE1YUU


End file.
